Israel's Gaza dilemma

Why does Israel maintain a blockade on the Gaza Strip and subject itself to international outcry? Simply put, we don't have much choice.

Fair-minded people will recall the context of Israel's necessary, if unpopular, policy.

Israel left the Gaza Strip entirely in 2005 and handed it to the Palestinian Authority. We removed 21 Israeli settlements and 9,000 Israeli citizens against their will in order to advance peace with the Palestinian people. We turned our military bases over to the Palestinian police with color-coded keys to ease transition. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered simultaneously the dismantling of four West Bank settlements to make Israel's intention clear. Disengagement from the Gaza Strip was to be the first stage toward the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace and well-being alongside Israel.

But in 2007, Hamas evicted the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup. Rocket fire escalated, depopulating Israel's southern towns and kibbutzim. This forced us to supervise goods entering Gaza to prevent the import of rocket and munitions components. Eventually, we had to launch Operation Cast Lead to stop rocket attacks on our population. We now maintain a naval blockade in the hope that we won't have to fight again.

Hamas is a terror organization in the eyes of the European Union and the United States, but it is also our immediate neighbor, sitting 40 miles from Tel Aviv - and this necessitates Israel to choose from among the least bad options.

Israel could invade Gaza and unseat Hamas by force, causing large casualties and much destruction in the process. Or Israel can isolate Hamas through a blockade until it changes its policies or is replaced by the Palestinian Authority. If we allow unfettered access to the Gaza Strip, Gaza will become an Iranian-armed missile base on our doorstep, much as Lebanon has become under Hezbollah. Egypt's position does not differ greatly from our own. This is why we maintain a blockade.

How can we allow a humanitarian crisis at our doorstep? We do not. Gaza is not deprived of food or medicine. Thousands of Gazans enter Israel for treatment at our hospitals. Gaza suffers unemployment at a time that the West Bank, under the Palestinian Authority, enjoys 8 percent GDP growth. The Gazans are victims of their own government, just as the citizens of North Korea are victims of theirs and suffer far greater deprivation than Gazans, because of the international isolation required by their government's behavior.

Why did Israel stop an aid flotilla at sea? We asked the organizers to land at Ashdod or in Egyptian Sinai, in accordance with international maritime law. We committed to transport their goods to Gaza under their own observation after security inspection. When the organizers refused, we landed a small naval force on the lead ship to effect compliance. Our naval team, armed with paintball guns, planned to encounter political opponents, not a lynch mob armed with sharpened rods, knives and firebombs. The video evidence is unambiguous: Our force was overcome, their emergency side arms seized and fired upon them, a soldier was thrown from the deck. When the force commander understood it was dead soldiers or bad PR, he made the only correct choice and authorized live fire.

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

"Its over. I will always speak to you, and I don't mind if you don't say anything. Just because you went away, it doesn't mean you're not here anymore. Perhaps all I ever needed was this gift, the one you gave to me at the end.I love you."

Gaia's a blonde and she's a foreigner to Israel? Looks like someone is attempting to divert attention from themselves for being GLP's resident Jew.

Quoting: Irdoooomed

whaaaat???can you answer the article please?

"Its over. I will always speak to you, and I don't mind if you don't say anything. Just because you went away, it doesn't mean you're not here anymore. Perhaps all I ever needed was this gift, the one you gave to me at the end.I love you."

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

Gaia's a blonde and she's a foreigner to Israel? Looks like someone is attempting to divert attention from themselves for being GLP's resident Jew.

whaaaat???can you answer the article please?

Quoting: ~GAIA~

Sure, the Jews failed to foster postive relations with the PLO and probably sought to undermine them. This weakening of the PLO lead to the formation of radical elements in the form of Hamas and they seized power in 2007. Or at least that's what Israel would like to hear, but Israel formed Hamas to gain more control over the Gaza strip but someone screwed the pooch and Hamas turned on Israel becoming more radical than the PLO.

Twenty grand dood, it's a lot of money!

Recently homosexuals have been making anti christian threads. Think about it.

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

Good questions....

Quoting: Grizzled Old Goat

"Its over. I will always speak to you, and I don't mind if you don't say anything. Just because you went away, it doesn't mean you're not here anymore. Perhaps all I ever needed was this gift, the one you gave to me at the end.I love you."

In practice, Zionists did not accept the UN Partition Plan. Zionists seized areas beyond the proposed Jewish State and did not recognize the International Zone. Using force and terrorism months before May 1948, Jews seized land beyond the UN proposed borders. The UN Plan was used as a pretense for taking over most of Palestine.

NOTE: This is a critical fact often omitted when the history is presented and this leads to a very distorted view of what happened in 1948. The misleading story often told is that "Jews declared Israel and then they were attacked." The fact is from November 1947 to May 1948 the Zionists were already on the offensive and had already attacked Arabs. In the months before Israel was declared, the Zionists had driven 300,000 non-Jews off their land. In the months before Israel was declared, the Zionists had seized land beyond the proposed Jewish State.

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it."- Frédéric Bastiat

We were told that the reason bin Laden attacked the USA was because he hates our "freedom" and "democracy". The Muslims were "medieval" and they wanted to destroy us because they envied our wealth, were still bitter about the Crusades, and were offended by Britney Spears shaking her tits and ass all over the place!

But bin Laden strongly denied any role in the attacks and suggested that Zionists orchestrated the9-11 attacks. The BBC published bin Laden's statement of denial in which he said:"I was not involved in the September 11 attacks in the United States nor did I have knowledge of the attacks. There exists a government within a government within the United States. The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; to the people who want to make the present century a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity. That secret government must be asked as to who carried out the attacks. ... The American system is totally in control of the Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States." (28)

First of all: there is no blocade. If you want to send something to Gaza even by boat it will arrive there, it just needs to be checked.

Second: the Gaza dilemma: If I would have the say I would

1) declare to accept Hamas as the legitimative represantive of the Gaza state and to accept them within their borders. Lift the seige. Tell them clearly that every attack would be a declaration of war with all the consequences and destruction in Gaza as a natural result.

2) make peace with Abbas and give him East Jerusalem.

3) Help them palestinians to have a state

Act as a real state. Define your boundery and the boundery of the arabs.

Why does Israel maintain a blockade on the Gaza Strip and subject itself to international outcry? Simply put, we don't have much choice.

Fair-minded people will recall the context of Israel's necessary, if unpopular, policy.

Israel left the Gaza Strip entirely in 2005 and handed it to the Palestinian Authority. We removed 21 Israeli settlements and 9,000 Israeli citizens against their will in order to advance peace with the Palestinian people. We turned our military bases over to the Palestinian police with color-coded keys to ease transition. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered simultaneously the dismantling of four West Bank settlements to make Israel's intention clear. Disengagement from the Gaza Strip was to be the first stage toward the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace and well-being alongside Israel.

But in 2007, Hamas evicted the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup. Rocket fire escalated, depopulating Israel's southern towns and kibbutzim. This forced us to supervise goods entering Gaza to prevent the import of rocket and munitions components. Eventually, we had to launch Operation Cast Lead to stop rocket attacks on our population. We now maintain a naval blockade in the hope that we won't have to fight again.

Hamas is a terror organization in the eyes of the European Union and the United States, but it is also our immediate neighbor, sitting 40 miles from Tel Aviv - and this necessitates Israel to choose from among the least bad options.

Israel could invade Gaza and unseat Hamas by force, causing large casualties and much destruction in the process. Or Israel can isolate Hamas through a blockade until it changes its policies or is replaced by the Palestinian Authority. If we allow unfettered access to the Gaza Strip, Gaza will become an Iranian-armed missile base on our doorstep, much as Lebanon has become under Hezbollah. Egypt's position does not differ greatly from our own. This is why we maintain a blockade.

How can we allow a humanitarian crisis at our doorstep? We do not. Gaza is not deprived of food or medicine. Thousands of Gazans enter Israel for treatment at our hospitals. Gaza suffers unemployment at a time that the West Bank, under the Palestinian Authority, enjoys 8 percent GDP growth. The Gazans are victims of their own government, just as the citizens of North Korea are victims of theirs and suffer far greater deprivation than Gazans, because of the international isolation required by their government's behavior.

Why did Israel stop an aid flotilla at sea? We asked the organizers to land at Ashdod or in Egyptian Sinai, in accordance with international maritime law. We committed to transport their goods to Gaza under their own observation after security inspection. When the organizers refused, we landed a small naval force on the lead ship to effect compliance. Our naval team, armed with paintball guns, planned to encounter political opponents, not a lynch mob armed with sharpened rods, knives and firebombs. The video evidence is unambiguous: Our force was overcome, their emergency side arms seized and fired upon them, a soldier was thrown from the deck. When the force commander understood it was dead soldiers or bad PR, he made the only correct choice and authorized live fire.

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

Gaia ... lets see now, how many post on this subject? About 10 now right? You seem pretty eger to convince people that israel is doing the right thing. What you dont realize that some time people had the tolerance of israel acting in that way but now people are getting pretti tierd of your way of handeling that situation. It clearly shows that israel isnt capable of handeling it and all you do is do it worse instead of healping the situation.

We as a majority of the world do not judge the israeli people for your gouverments actions since they dont speak for the whole israeli people.

You on the other hand seem to think that its good to keep the blockade thus you go on ur gouverments side.

Israel has a way to twist and turn thing like "Look at us we gave em food, we withdraw all our troops, we did this and that" But listen, it looks like you dident do enough? dosent it? If you want to resolve this situation you need to submit to the feeling of "they must show us they like us"... because they will never do it aslong as you drive them away from their land.

And dont give me that bullshit that god did this and he gave you this and that because its bullshit god dident wright anything about anyone living anywhere, as a matter of fact a dont think he gives a damn where you live.

Listen you dont make the call here? you dont tell people where to go with their boats, you know why? because its non of your god damn buisness where people travel with goods. How the rest of the world does as my contry is doing now? We wont let any israeli flagged ships unload their cargo in our ports, how about that? you can all sit down there with ur rottin sharonfruits and wonder what just happend?

Dont act like some insane "godpeople" because you know what? you are made of flesh and blood as are the palestinians, act to them as you act towards ur family, dont judge 100000s of ppl because of 10 peoples actions. I think the gazastrip people are pretty tierd of hamas and the way the act to you know...

First of all: there is no blocade. If you want to send something to Gaza even by boat it will arrive there, it just needs to be checked.

Second: the Gaza dilemma: If I would have the say I would

1) declare to accept Hamas as the legitimative represantive of the Gaza state and to accept them within their borders. Lift the seige. Tell them clearly that every attack would be a declaration of war with all the consequences and destruction in Gaza as a natural result.

2) make peace with Abbas and give him East Jerusalem.

3) Help them palestinians to have a state

Act as a real state. Define your boundery and the boundery of the arabs.

Quoting: Joern

And if they declare war flatten their place, listen to the US how to make real war. Stop acting like a war is a police action. If you are at war you go until the end or you loose. There needs to be a declaration from the other side saying: I LOST.

it would help if Israel recognised Hamas as a legal political party which they are as the people who voted for them gave them a mandate & that Israel gave back the territories they took in the Six Day war.

What I find fantastic is any notion that there are answers beyond the realm of science. The answers are there. You just have to know where to look.

We're all gonna die. The only question is when & how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your knees... begging?! I ain't much for begging! Nobody ever gave me nothing!

Why does Israel maintain a blockade on the Gaza Strip and subject itself to international outcry? Simply put, we don't have much choice.

Fair-minded people will recall the context of Israel's necessary, if unpopular, policy.

Israel left the Gaza Strip entirely in 2005 and handed it to the Palestinian Authority. We removed 21 Israeli settlements and 9,000 Israeli citizens against their will in order to advance peace with the Palestinian people. We turned our military bases over to the Palestinian police with color-coded keys to ease transition. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered simultaneously the dismantling of four West Bank settlements to make Israel's intention clear. Disengagement from the Gaza Strip was to be the first stage toward the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace and well-being alongside Israel.

But in 2007, Hamas evicted the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup. Rocket fire escalated, depopulating Israel's southern towns and kibbutzim. This forced us to supervise goods entering Gaza to prevent the import of rocket and munitions components. Eventually, we had to launch Operation Cast Lead to stop rocket attacks on our population. We now maintain a naval blockade in the hope that we won't have to fight again.

Hamas is a terror organization in the eyes of the European Union and the United States, but it is also our immediate neighbor, sitting 40 miles from Tel Aviv - and this necessitates Israel to choose from among the least bad options.

Israel could invade Gaza and unseat Hamas by force, causing large casualties and much destruction in the process. Or Israel can isolate Hamas through a blockade until it changes its policies or is replaced by the Palestinian Authority. If we allow unfettered access to the Gaza Strip, Gaza will become an Iranian-armed missile base on our doorstep, much as Lebanon has become under Hezbollah. Egypt's position does not differ greatly from our own. This is why we maintain a blockade.

How can we allow a humanitarian crisis at our doorstep? We do not. Gaza is not deprived of food or medicine. Thousands of Gazans enter Israel for treatment at our hospitals. Gaza suffers unemployment at a time that the West Bank, under the Palestinian Authority, enjoys 8 percent GDP growth. The Gazans are victims of their own government, just as the citizens of North Korea are victims of theirs and suffer far greater deprivation than Gazans, because of the international isolation required by their government's behavior.

Why did Israel stop an aid flotilla at sea? We asked the organizers to land at Ashdod or in Egyptian Sinai, in accordance with international maritime law. We committed to transport their goods to Gaza under their own observation after security inspection. When the organizers refused, we landed a small naval force on the lead ship to effect compliance. Our naval team, armed with paintball guns, planned to encounter political opponents, not a lynch mob armed with sharpened rods, knives and firebombs. The video evidence is unambiguous: Our force was overcome, their emergency side arms seized and fired upon them, a soldier was thrown from the deck. When the force commander understood it was dead soldiers or bad PR, he made the only correct choice and authorized live fire.

How did our intelligence fail? Maybe we read too many e-mails from Bay Area peace activists. The moral selectivism of the Free Gaza Movement is troublesome. Why are they embracing Hamas - a movement that hates Jews, Christians, secular Muslims and any semblance of liberal values - rather than acting to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leadership? Where will their moral outrage be when a Scud missile shipped into the Gaza Strip lands in the center of Tel Aviv?

Gaia ... lets see now, how many post on this subject? About 10 now right? You seem pretty eger to convince people that israel is doing the right thing. What you dont realize that some time people had the tolerance of israel acting in that way but now people are getting pretti tierd of your way of handeling that situation. It clearly shows that israel isnt capable of handeling it and all you do is do it worse instead of healping the situation.

We as a majority of the world do not judge the israeli people for your gouverments actions since they dont speak for the whole israeli people.

You on the other hand seem to think that its good to keep the blockade thus you go on ur gouverments side.

Israel has a way to twist and turn thing like "Look at us we gave em food, we withdraw all our troops, we did this and that" But listen, it looks like you dident do enough? dosent it? If you want to resolve this situation you need to submit to the feeling of "they must show us they like us"... because they will never do it aslong as you drive them away from their land.

And dont give me that bullshit that god did this and he gave you this and that because its bullshit god dident wright anything about anyone living anywhere, as a matter of fact a dont think he gives a damn where you live.

Listen you dont make the call here? you dont tell people where to go with their boats, you know why? because its non of your god damn buisness where people travel with goods. How the rest of the world does as my contry is doing now? We wont let any israeli flagged ships unload their cargo in our ports, how about that? you can all sit down there with ur rottin sharonfruits and wonder what just happend?

Dont act like some insane "godpeople" because you know what? you are made of flesh and blood as are the palestinians, act to them as you act towards ur family, dont judge 100000s of ppl because of 10 peoples actions. I think the gazastrip people are pretty tierd of hamas and the way the act to you know...

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 979403

well said sweden

"gods chosen people" what a pile of fucking shit

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life

Hi, ~GAIA~My name is Salman and i am from Pakistan.i need your help. i saw "spacenomad" is in your friend list.Since i do not have a upgraded account here, i can not send email-message to anyone. Can you please message "spacenomad" that i really need to talk to him.it will be so kind of you

Moron! The truth hurts. Doesn't it? Israel had done the right thing. But your hypocricy stinks high to the heavens.Those so-called activists are no different from Hamas terrorists and should have been locked up until they come back to their senses.